Dogman (2023)

A revenge film with a twist, and that is certainly a good one. I like the revenge films we've been seeing in recent years. From John Wick and Equalizer to Promising Young Woman and You Were Never Really Here. Dogman mainly focuses on the main character and Besson mainly presents a character film instead of pure action. A special and fascinating story with a wonderful Caleb Landry Jones in the leading role who gives the film the necessary color.

Dogman does not leave a lasting impression like Besson's other films such as Léon, Nikita, Angel-A and Fifth Element. But the film does stand out and provides the necessary mystery. The result is a fascinating film and Besson's best film since Angel-A.

Translated from Dutch · View original

Beautiful film, and I was all alone in the cinema, how wonderful that was! It's a shame that dogs are not allowed into the cinema, otherwise I would definitely have brought my Knakkie.
Even at the motto of the film I immediately burst into tears, something that has never happened to me before haha...
"Wherever there is an unfortunate person, God sends a dog.", by the poet Alphonse de Lamartine.
The film really shoots in all directions and I mean that in a positive way! One moment a scene is extremely emotional, the next you're looking at the screen with a broad smile on your face: the little Jack Russell (looked a lot like my Knakkie, by the way) breaking into the house of some rich person and grabs an expensive diamond necklace from the bedside table. That had something cartoonish à la Disney or De Boefjes, something like that...
Cinematographically a cross between The Silence of the Lambs and Joker. The action scenes in particular look tough and cool, the scenes with Salma and the many cute dog scenes are very sweet. But there are also scenes that take your breath away.
Fortunately, Besson understands very well what people especially don't want to see.
A great film, with a protagonist (very charismatic performance by Caleb Landry Jones) who, heavily scarred by life, gathers a pack of dogs around him and seeks refuge in cross-dressing.
The scenes in the drag club are also very amusing, who did I see there: Cher, Madonna... Good music too, Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics, and I couldn't keep it dry with Edith Piaf's La Foule again.
I don't think anyone will notice the similarities with Joker, I even thought it was a little better than Joker, because of the dog (love) theme and the film feels more European, I thought, just a little more mature.

Translated from Dutch · View original

For years I have been going to Luc Besson films with trepidation in the hope of a pleasant surprise. This is finally it and although the backstory is certainly not subtle, Besson largely holds back, resulting in a bizarre but fascinating crime drama in which he is subservient to Caleb Landry Jones and the scene-stealing dogs. Jones is nothing short of stunning as “DogMan” Douglas Munrow who, dressed as Marilyn Monroe, is found injured in a truck full of dogs. Social worker Evelyn [Jojo T. Gibbs] is called out of bed at 2 a.m. to interrogate this eccentric man. What is immediately striking is the calm course of the interrogation, in which both the interrogator and the interrogated are more concerned with a friendly conversation in a soft tone and with mutual respect. Jones' plays a campy role on paper without any frills and effortlessly holds the attention until the dogs can steal the show. Besson could have left out the religious symbolism, but he deserves praise for his modest direction. Now let's hope (against my better judgement) that he doesn't go back to his old tricks.

Translated from Dutch · View original